Lottie
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
Lottie plays After Effects animations on the web as tiny JSON files instead of heavy GIFs or videos. Designers make beautiful animations, export them, and they render perfectly at any size. It's like having a professional animator living inside your website for free.
Real Talk
Lottie is an open-source library that renders Adobe After Effects animations exported as JSON via the Bodymovin plugin. Animations are vector-based, resolution-independent, and significantly smaller than GIF/video alternatives. Available for web, iOS, Android, and React Native.
When You'll Hear This
"Replace that 2MB loading GIF with a 30KB Lottie animation" / "The onboarding illustrations use Lottie so they animate smoothly on every device"
Related Terms
Canvas API
The Canvas API gives you a blank rectangle and says 'draw whatever you want with code.' It's like MS Paint but controlled by JavaScript.
CSS Animations
CSS animations let you make things move, spin, fade, and bounce using only CSS — no JavaScript needed.
SVG Animation
SVG animation brings vector graphics to life with smooth, scalable motion that looks sharp on any screen.